During the 1997 Copa América in Bolivia, an unusual incident of play occurred during the match between Brazil and Bolivia. In the 21st minute, Brazilian striker Edmundo punched a Bolivian defender in the face with whom he had been arguing for several minutes.
The two players were clinging to each other near the touchline after a physical duel. Annoyed, Edmundo then fired a straight right which hit his opponent in the nose. The referee, standing nearby, was able to see the scene clearly. Normally, such an act of violence should have resulted in immediate expulsion.
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However, Brazilian coach Zagallo showed tactical cunning by immediately replacing Edmundo. While the referee was probably preparing to issue a red card, the offending player had already left the field in favor of a substitute. Deprived of the possibility of sanctioning a player who was no longer in the game, the referee could only record the change.
Thanks to this express substitution ordered by Zagallo, Brazil avoided the exclusion of its attacker. Despite the protests of the Bolivian team, the game director could only note that he could no longer exclude Edmundo, now on the bench. Through his cunning, Zagallo skillfully defused a situation that could have compromised the rest of the match for his team.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the first five episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
